Teachers' Perspective on Barriers to Implementing Physical Activity Curriculum Guidelines for School Children in Toronto

Background: Teachers in Ontario are expected to implement the physical activity guidelines in the health and physical education (HPE) curriculum document that was introduced in 1998. This study examined Toronto teachers' perspective on barriers to implementing these guidelines. Methods: Forty-five teachers from five Toronto elementary schools in which generalist classroom teachers provide physical education classes participated in focus groups. An experienced moderator facilitated each session. Themes were inductively generated from the data. Results: Participants reported that children were not engaged in moderate or vigorous physical activity daily and for the expected duration. Participants identified three categories of barriers to implementing the curriculum guidelines: lower priority for HPE, lack of performance measures for physical activity, and lack of sufficient infrastructure. First, they reported that the new curriculum expectations for other subjects were demanding, which left little time to focus on physical education. They felt that resource support for the HPE curriculum was not sufficient and that physical education specialists were necessary but unavailable to implement the curriculum. Second, participants felt accountable to both government and parents for high student performance on standardized tests in subjects deemed to be of higher priority. Third, participants reported inadequate facilities and equipment, use of portables for classrooms, cancelling physical education to have events in the gymnasium, and unavailability of teachers to supervise off-school physical activity. Conclusion: The study suggests that participating teachers perceive physical education to be a low priority in the educational system, making it difficult for them to meet the HPE curriculum expectations. Contexte : Les enseignants de l'Ontario sont tenus d'appliquer les lignes directrices sur l'activité physique contenues dans le document de programme sur la santé et l'éducation physique diffusé en 1998. Nous avons étudié le point de vue des enseignants de Toronto sur les obstacles à l'application de ces lignes directrices. Méthode : Quarante-cinq enseignants de cinq écoles primaires de Toronto où les cours d'éducation physique sont donnés par des enseignants non spécialisés ont participé à des groupes d'entretien en profondeur. Chaque séance était facilitée par un animateur chevronné. Les thèmes des entretiens ont été inductivement tirés des données. Résultats :